Wines Made Entirely from Yamagata Grapes: Five Commitments
Akayu in Nanyo City is known as the birthplace of grape growing in Yamagata Prefecture. Its favorable growing environment and generations of cultivation know-how produce high-quality fruit. Since the quality of wine depends greatly on the quality of its grapes, Akayu is exceptionally well suited to winemaking.\n\nThe company began 83 years ago, when the founder focused on grapes, a local specialty of Akayu, and opened the Oura Agricultural Processing Plant. Alongside grape wine, it produced fruit wines and juices that made use of the area’s abundance of fruit. The winery still actively produces grape juice today, drawing on those long-standing traditions.\n\nGrapes come mainly from contracted local growers, supplemented by fruit from vineyards managed by the winery. Since its founding, the winery has remained committed to using only grapes grown in Yamagata Prefecture and follows five principles in its winemaking:\n\n● Make wine from local grapes\n\n● Express the individuality of each grape variety\n\n● Put quality first\n\n● Make wine by hand, with care\n\n● Pursue clean, refined wine quality\n\nWine is a drink that expresses the culture of its place. The winery hopes each sip will evoke the scenery of Akayu and Yamagata. Production is limited by the supply of local grapes, so quantities available outside the prefecture are modest, but the winery intends to maintain this approach and continue making quality-driven local wine. In recent years, its wines have also earned high honors in wine competitions.